Fire-escape



(No Model.)

W. T. SMITH.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No.884,282. Patented June 12, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Erica,

FIRE-ESCAPE.

$PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,292, dated June 12, 1888.

Application filed March '7, 1888. Serial No. 266,430. (No model.)

T0 at 20710771, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM T. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire Escapes,of which the following is so full, clear, and exact a description as will enable others skilled in the art to which this invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the up pended drawings, forming a parthereof.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in fire-escapes; and it consists in a certain novel combination and an rangement of the various portions, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth in the specification, and pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and cheap lireescape, and one that can be readily adj nsted for use in time of need.

Another object of my invention is to combine with the above-mentioned fire-escape a wash-stand.

A further object of my invention is to make acombined waslrstand and fireescape which shall at the same time not only be useful for the purposes intended, but which shall also be ornamental as an article of furniture and present an appearance different from that of either a waslrstand or a fire-escape.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and on which similar letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding features- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention, showing the same as it appears when not in use. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view of theiadder, and Fig. 4 a detail view of the drum and its engaging lever.

The letters A and B designate the front and rear sides of the body of the wash stand, and the letter O the bottom thereof, the same being supported upon rollers D, and provided on its front face and on its ends with ornamental scroll or other work, as desired. The ends are provided with doors E and F, hinged to the side pieces, and the rear side extends upwardly some distance above the wash-stand top G, and is provided with one or more deskshelves and with ornamental work in representation of a. desk, and to a projecting board,

H, I secure by hinges the desk-top I, the same being mounted upon inclined sides 3, so that when the desk-top is closed it inclines.

Situated below the shelves of the desk and adjacent to the roar side is the reservoir K, having an interior lining, K, of zinc or other suitable water-proof material, and descending from the bottom thereof and extending to the wash-basin L is a watersnpply pipe, M, provided on its free end with a faucet, N, so as to turn the water on and off, as desired.

The bottom of the basin, as usual, is provided with a discharge-pipe, O, and a plug, P, and below said dischargepipe I locate the discharge-receiving pan or tank Q, which is mounted upon a transverse shelf, R, extending across the wash-stand. Secured to the front of the wash-stand are eyes S, and through them extend the bolts or pins 'I, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear.

Located upon the cross-pieces U, mounted on the standards V, is a shaft or drum, IV, and upon this shaft or drum I attach securely and firmly one end of the ladder X, the same consisting, preferably, of webbing with rounds Y, of either wood or iron, extending across from one band to the other, and to the end of this ladder I secure a bag, Z. This bag is made of strong material, and sufficiently large to receive a good sized child or even a woman in case of fire.

I secure firmly but loosely to the rear of the desk or wash-stand a lever whose central portion is cut away to correspond with the shaft, the other end of the lever terminating in a handle, so that in case of fire, when it is desired to lower a child in the bag at the end of the ladder it is only necessary to roll the washstand near a window, secure the child in the hag,-a nd by pressing the lever upon the shaft W steadily yet yieidingly the child may be let down to the ground without harm.

The pins before referred to as upon the front of the wash stand may be driven into the floor by a hammer kept convenientlyinside of the wash-stand, though it is not absolutely necessary to do so, for its weight is usually sufficient to withstand the strain of a person descending the ladder; but in order to provide against any danger in descending I provide the pins.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a closed article of furniture having a slot in its front face and doors in its side, of a drum situated within the said piece of furniture, a flexible ladder adapted to be wound around the said drum, a bag or receptacle carried by the said drum, and a lever secured at the rear of the said drum and adapted to engage therewith for the purpose set forth, and having its opposite extreniity extending out through the slot in the front face of the article of furniture. 

